Some great answers here, thanks for posting this question. I originally come from a finance background, though I'm taking a year off now to focus on programmin

Some great answers here, thanks for posting this question. I originally come from a finance background, though I'm taking a year off now to focus on programming for some of the same reasons you mention. Joel Spolsky listed four books which he believes makes a solid foundation for a good programmer and that's what I'm working through, along with building random apps/projects: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/414779/what-should-a-self-taught-programmer-with-no-degree-learn-read/4473810#4473810 http://stackoverflow.com/questions/414779/what-should-a-self...